Xenofreak Nation, Book Three: XIA

by Conway, Melissa

  Savvy’s mouth tightened. “No. I won’t do it unless he tells me to.”

  Alton lifted his gun arm and pointed it at Savvy’s head. “How ‘bout if I tell you to?”

  “You won’t shoot me.”

  “That one?” Nicola said, glancing at Alton. “Yes, he will.”

  “Yeah, Felson,” Alton said. “You don’t want her to see your brains splattered all over the wall, do you?”

  “How do I know this isn’t a trick?”

  Nicola put a hand on Savvy’s arm. “This is coming from me, Felson. No one’s pressuring me. Please just do it. I don’t want Daddy to die.”

  Scott opened the printer and held it out.

  Savvy looked so conflicted he seemed like he was about to implode upon himself, but he finally reached out and took it. He set it on a nearby surface and activated the holoscanner. Moments later, a holoscreen popped up.

  “Wait,” Scott said, as something occurred to him. “How does it work?”

  “I send a signal through the nearest cell tower,” Savvy said.

  “Will everyone with nanoneurons be affected?”

  “Unless I deselect their name.”

  “Then do it,” Scott said. “Deselect Bryn Vega’s name.”

  “Why is she there?” Savvy asked.

  “Never mind,” Nicola said. “Just hurry, okay?”

  Scott watched over Savvy’s shoulder as he scrolled through a long list of names. He found Bryn’s and did something. When he gestured with his hand, every name but hers turned red and began to blink.

  Scott took out his holophone and called Mia again. She answered immediately.

  “You’re good to go,” he said.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Dillo glanced out the door and muttered, “What are they doing?” After a moment, he added, “Oh, they’re definitely freaking out.”

  There was a loud pop, and Dillo guffawed and exclaimed, “Guy just shot another guy! Looks like it’s affecting three or four of them, at least. Now’s the time.”

  Bryn’s heart started beating faster. She had the shotgun, but barely knew how to use it. She didn’t even know whether she had another shot left or if she’d already expended her one and only bullet. Even if she had more ammunition, she didn’t know how to load it. It seemed a poor choice to go out into a gunfight under the circumstances. She hated to admit her lack of knowledge to Maddy, but she had no choice.

  Before she could say anything, however, the Mad Eye queen bent over the dead xeno, unclipped an ammo belt from his waist and tugged it out from under him. She then strapped it around her hips, pulled Fournier’s pistol from her inside jacket pocket and held it out to Bryn.

  “Trade you. I’m more of a shotgun gal.”

  After they swapped weapons, Maddy swung the barrel of the short shotgun towards Curtis.

  Bryn didn’t know why she felt compelled to keep Maddy from killing the squirrelly man, but she said, “Don’t shoot him.”

  “I wasn’t going to,” Maddy replied, but she fired the shotgun anyway, right past Curtis’ head. She must have been aiming for the control room’s circuit breaker panel, because the room went dark. Now Curtis wouldn’t be able to monitor them after they left. Bryn’s ears were ringing, but she heard Maddy’s voice come out of the darkness. “Dillo?”

  “Ready.”

  Diffuse light filled the room as he opened the door and yelled, “Hold your fire or the boss gets it!” He forced Fournier ahead of him out onto the platform. Maddy went next, and then it was Bryn’s turn. She held her arms out in front of her like she’d seen on holovision, elbows locked, gun swinging from side to side. She knew Mia was very close behind her because she could hear her breathing.

  The first thing she did after stepping over the threshold was lift the gun towards the roof of the prefab in case the sniper had returned. The last thing she expected was to see him there, just extending his rifle out over the edge to take Dillo out from behind. Firing at him wasn’t even a conscious decision. Her finger twitched on the trigger and the gun bucked in her hand, turning her locked elbows to noodles.

  The sniper disappeared from view, but she knew she’d hit him because the oddly-shaped rifle fell to her feet. Dillo glanced around and met her eyes.

  Yeah, I just saved your sorry life, Bryn thought.

  Mia quickly picked up the rifle and nudged Bryn. “Go!”

  Bryn was vaguely aware her shot had set off a response. As they ran for the stairs, she looked out over the railing to see two soldiers sprinting for the nearest door. One of them began firing blindly over his shoulder at them, until one of his comrades stepped out from behind a steel column and fired back.

  “Look at ’em shoot each other!” Maddy sounded elated.

  One of the running soldiers fell, but the other made it to the door. As soon as he disappeared outside, Dillo stepped up the pace, forcing Fournier down the steps and across the floor. When they reached the nearest steel column, Bryn saw one of the soldiers curled up in a fetal position behind it, lost in the throes of fear his nanoneurons were producing. Not far away, another man lay clutching his bloody midsection and rolling in agony.

  She almost felt sorry for them. She’d experienced that same flood of terror only a few days ago, courtesy of Padme. Even the memory of it made her shudder.

  The soldier who’d shot one of his own turned to them and fired, but his clip was empty. He kept trying to fire, spasmodically pulling the trigger until he finally threw the gun at them. It fell far short and clattered across the floor. He sank into a squat and wrapped his arms around his head, screaming, “Make it stop!”

  Behind him, Bryn saw the scientists inside the biodome crouching behind and under the furnishings. She couldn’t tell if they were affected by the signal, too, or simply hiding from the crazed gunmen.

  They made it to the door. The soldier who’d run out was nowhere in sight, but a saddled, riderless horse stood nearby, its reins tied to a rusty pole. She wondered if it belonged to the sniper she’d shot. Walking quickly and in close proximity to each other, they left along the same broken walkway they’d arrived. Dusk was falling and the temperature had dropped. Bryn was glad for the warm coat Mrs. Padilla had given her. She thought about pulling the wide hood over her quills, but didn’t want it to obstruct her vision.

  When they reached the road in front of the old manufacturing plant, they found Rose, the female xeno Maddy had left guarding Fournier’s soldiers. She was lying face-down on the tarmac and her jacket had been partially pulled from her body; evidence of a struggle. Bryn saw the woman’s xenograft on her lower back: the orangey scales of a reptile in the shape of a rose. Mia knelt down to see if she was still alive, but from the size of the puddle of blood under the body, Bryn didn’t think it was necessary to check.

  Maddy shot Fournier a malicious look that spoke volumes about who she blamed for Rose’s death. He seemed not to notice. There were dark pink splotches across his cheekbones, and his eyelids were rimmed with red. He was the only one not wearing a coat. When Dillo urged him to continue, he stumbled along, every ragged exhale visible in the frigid air. It was obvious pain and blood loss had worn him down.

  They continued on through the open gate and up the little hill. The animals were still running loose, but Bryn didn’t see as many. They’d either left the area, or with night falling, had located someplace to hide. The domesticated ones might have even gone back into the barn. As they made their way down the hill towards the farmhouse, Mia’s holophone rang. It was Scott.

  “Are you safe?”

  “For now,” Mia replied.

  “Well, get out of there as soon as you can. Apparently Padme built a failsafe into the new version of the program. The nanoneuron bursts are self-limiting to prevent killing anyone. You’ve got one minute until it shuts off.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  The moment the program shut off the signal, Alton took the printer from Savvy and Scott took him back into custody. As he was fastening the zip ti
e around Savvy’s wrists, Nicola said, “That’s how you thank him?”

  “Oh, I won’t be doing the thanking,” Scott replied. “That’s up to a jury of his peers.”

  “I’m peerless,” Savvy muttered.

  Scott assumed he meant he was too unique or intelligent to have peers. He shook his head, took Savvy’s arm and said, “Move.”

  Back in the stairwell, he thought about what would happen next. Shasta would want to do something about Fournier, but with the lack of staff and the condition of the building, he didn’t know what. He began to mentally compose an argument for her to send him in. If Maddy got away, chances were good Fournier would be dead when he got there. He tried not to think about Bryn’s chances. He’d been worried about her before he saw her holding a shotgun in the company of Fournier and Maddy Singh, but now that he knew what she’d gotten herself into, his anxiety had reached panic proportions.

  Halfway down the stairs, Alton asked Savvy, “What were you doing on the third floor?”

  Nicola put a hand on Savvy’s arm. “Is it done?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “Then go ahead and tell them.”

  “I hacked the database.”

  “For the National Library of Medicine?” Scott asked. “Why?”

  “Because he told me to.”

  Scott sighed at the non-answer and swiveled his head in Nicola’s direction.

  “My father asked Felson to locate certain documents and release them to the media.”

  “Like what?”

  “Medical articles that were withheld from the public.”

  They reached the bottom of the stairs and Scott opened the door. Bright headlights from a pair of large vehicles parked in front of the building were now illuminating the lobby. “Is that what this was all about?” He gestured to indicate the destruction.

  “No.” She shook her head adamantly. “Felson and I weren’t supposed to be part of that. Daddy just wanted to get Lupus back. Everything I told you about running away was true, except…I did call him from the roadblock. He was really mad when he found out you were an agent and that you caught us…until he thought of a way to turn it to his advantage. He’s good at that.”

  “Psychopaths generally are,” Alton said.

  “He’s not a psycho! He’s a brilliant surgeon who-”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Alton’s voice drowned her out. “He’s a misunderstood genius. Now go.”

  Nicola huffed out of the stairwell and stomped away, Alton on her heels. Scott had several more questions for her, not the least of which was how Savvy got access to the third floor, but now was not the time to interrogate anyone. He took Savvy’s arm again and headed for Shasta.

  The vehicles were military IMVs, which made sense, since National Guardsmen in tactical gear and surgical masks were now prowling the floor. Scott remembered what Carla had told him about the National Guard rounding up xenos, so he holstered his weapon and let go of Savvy’s arm, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets to hide his alterations.

  One of the guardsmen challenged Alton, but Shasta called out, “They’re mine.” She was standing near the destroyed stairwell talking with a dark-skinned man with short white hair dressed in fatigues. Scott didn’t need to see his insignia to know he was in command.

  His men had gathered up the dead and laid them side-by-side on a cleared space of floor near the far left wall. They’d also corralled and were guarding the living; the men Alton had taken out in the stairwell.

  From the commanding officer’s insignia, Scott identified him as a colonel. He heard the tail end of what he was telling Shasta, “…are working on restoring power here and in several adjacent neighborhoods.”

  Shasta held her hand out for the printer well before they reached her, an indication of its value to her. When Alton handed it over, she asked, “Did it work?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Excellent. I want all of you out at Fournier’s facility ASAP. Bring him in alive if at all possible. Lo and Boardman are geared up and waiting in the UAAV. Alton, if the opportunity happens to present, work on Maddy Singh.”

  Scott knew Alton’s recent assignment had something to do with getting Maddy to cooperate with the XIA, but he didn’t know the specifics and didn’t dwell on it. Shasta had given him the go-ahead to ensure Bryn’s safety and he was determined that this time nothing would prevent him from doing just that.

  He spun on his heel to hurry off, but Nicola stopped him with a plaintive, “What about me?”

  Scott would have ignored her, but the question was valid. Shasta had just ordered every one of her available agents back into the field. The building security staff were either dead or en route to the hospital, and the building itself had been breached and was on backup power. The other XIA handlers and their agents were MIA in the city’s chaos. Deputy Director Unger was also missing. Essentially, XIA headquarters was crippled. There was nowhere to keep the prisoners.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to come with me, young lady,” the colonel said.

  “No.” Shasta shook her head. “They’re witnesses in an investigation and will remain in my custody.”

  “My orders are to detain all xenos – for their safety.” He stared at Nicola’s face, eyes lingering on her feather eyebrows. “We’ll be taking them to a location called Poppy’s Pier as soon as we’re done here.”

  Scott jerked his head towards the four prisoners under guard. “What about them? You just letting them loose on the pier with everyone else?”

  “Of course not, but the jails won’t take them, so we’re using prisoner transport vehicles to hold xenofreak offenders for the time being. Marshals are sending a bus.”

  “I understand you’ve got a job to do,” Shasta said. “But I’m a senior agent with the XIA. You don’t have jurisdiction here.”

  From the look on the colonel’s face, Scott knew what he was going to say before he said it. “During martial law I do. All xenos. No exceptions. Those are my orders.”

  Shasta’s eyes flashed, but she acquiesced with a grudging, “Fine.” The colonel not only outgunned her, but he hadn’t yet realized she and her agents were also xenos. If she pressed the issue, she might find herself with a one-way ticket to Poppy’s Pier. For a moment, Scott was afraid Nicola or Savvy would point it out, but they didn’t. Nicola had heard Shasta’s request that they bring Fournier in alive, so it was unlikely she’d do anything to jeopardize that.

  Nicola did protest vociferously when the colonel refused to let her keep the birdcage. Shasta took it from her, prying her fingers gently off the handle. “I’ll take care of Perky. I promise.”

  When the commanding officer left, escorting Savvy and a still-protesting Nicola to a waiting vehicle, Shasta glanced at Scott’s midsection, where his hands were securely hidden.

  “How did you know?” she asked.

  “Bryn’s godmother told me they were rounding everyone up.”

  “Nothing good will come of that.”

  He nodded. “What are you going to do?”

  “I can use the agency’s mobile surveillance unit and keep an eye on your op from there. Now go rescue your girlfriend.”

  Chapter Thirty-three

  At the bottom of the hill, a narrow dirt path split off from the gravel road. It went around the field between the house and the river and disappeared in the unkempt vegetation along the shore.

  When Maddy turned onto the path, Bryn balked. She’d seen the yacht’s outboard and knew it wouldn’t hold them all. Maddy would most likely kill Fournier and dump his body in the Hudson River, and being witnesses to the crime, Bryn and Mia would be expendable.

  She summoned her courage and lifted the gun. “This is where we part company.”

  Maddy’s eyebrows rose. “How are you planning on getting out of here?”

  “Dundee’s truck. The keys are in his pocket.”

  To Bryn’s surprise, Maddy didn’t argue. She just nodded and said, “Alright. Good luck. And…thank you.” />
  It felt like a trick, but as Bryn and Mia got closer to the farmhouse, it seemed more and more likely they would escape. When they reached Dundee’s truck, Bryn was almost giddy with relief, even though she wasn’t looking forward to rooting around in a dead man’s pockets. She rounded the big vehicle and stopped in her tracks.

  Dundee’s body was gone.

  “I was wondering if he was the sniper back there,” Mia said.

  “He wasn’t. I saw the guy before I shot him! What are we going to do now? Can you hotwire it?”

  Mia made a face. “No. They didn’t teach us that in med school.”

  “Well, we can’t go back.” Bryn glanced over her shoulder at the gravel road, expecting a horde of angry men to appear at the top of the hill any second now.

  Mia took her holophone out and pulled up their location, putting her finger in the center of the holomap. “We’re here. There aren’t any other roads out, but if we cross the field, we can follow the river to this park.”

  Bryn spotted Maddy and the others in the distance. They’d almost reached the tall grass, bushes, and trees along the riverbank. If Bryn and Mia cut across the field at a sharp angle, they wouldn’t run into them. “Let’s get going, then. It’s almost dark.”

  Whatever crop had been grown in the field had been harvested close to the ground in wide rows. The dry winter stubble crunched under their boots as they hurried along. Bryn felt horribly exposed and was glad for the near darkness until they reached the field’s far corner. There, the wild vegetation was almost as thick and tall as that along the river. They beat their way through the undergrowth until they were stopped by a chain link fence the same height as the main gate.

  “I can’t climb that.” Mia sounded miserable.

  “Let’s head for the river. Worst case scenario, we have to get our feet wet.”

  After they followed the fence ten yards or so towards the water, Bryn realized she’d spoken too soon when she heard a growl that definitely came from a living thing. Her quills responded by puffing up around her head. With a flash of trepidation, she recalled the loose animals.